Gilk was arrested after police stopped him from filming them conducting an arrest of another young man. He had been walking by when he noticed the police and took out his cell phone to record them. The police asked if his phone recorded audio. When he replied that it did, they arrested him in violation of the wiretap statute.

He was also charged with disorderly conduct and aiding an escape. Though the charges were eventually dropped, Gilk filed a complaint with the department in 2007 and has filed a lawsuit in conjunction with the ACLU.

Initially, after receiving Gilk’s 2007 letter, the department issued a response saying there was no wrongdoing on the part of their officers’ actions. They maintained their support for the arrest until their change of heart came this month, refusing to say what exactly prompted their about-face.

In August of last year, a federal Court of Appeals ruled that people have a First Amendment right to film police officers engaged in official duty. Further, this month the U.S. Department of Justice also said the action is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

In that unrelated, Maryland case, the DOJ says, “The right to record police officers while performing duties in a public place, as well as the right to be protected from the warrantless seizure and destruction of those recordings, are not only required by the Constitution; they are consistent with our fundamental notions of liberty, promote the accountability of our governmental officers, and instill public confidence in the police officers who serve us daily”

Several police agencies have begun training their officers to this effect—that the citizens they serve are allowed to film them while working. Some agencies, however, are still a little late on doing so and you don’t have to look far in national headlines to find someone, somewhere being arrested for videotaping the police.

While videotaping the police may be lawful, disrupting their duties is not. And in some cases, the cops could charge you with something like disorderly conduct if your actions do, in fact, prevent or hinder them from doing their jobs.

If you are charged with getting in the way of police, with filming police, or with disorderly conduct, contact my offices today to discuss the charges against you and how I might be able to help.

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According to the Boston Herald, one in three violent parolees have violated the terms of their parole. There is a 37% violation rate for parolees that were sentenced to life in prison and this is causing quite a storm among lawmakers and citizens alike.

While the murder of a police officer is truly tragic and this is one case where perhaps the parole board should have known better than to free someone, other examples as laid out by the Boston Herald are far less extreme. One case is of a man who was originally convicted of rape and kidnapping; he violated parole by possessing a knife and pornography. Another violator had his parole revoked after his wife reported he was having an affair and the board feared for her safety, no legal violation was committed.

It’s understandable that the board now will err on the side of being more “safe than sorry” in hopes of preventing another tragedy. But, the truth is, they simply have no way of knowing who will reoffend or how they will do it.

Following the murder of officer Maguire, five parole board members were fired and a new chairman was named. It isn’t clear if these are the five that voted to parole the killer, but more than likely this is the case. Governor Patrick had to reassure the public that something was being done, and this is how he did that.

Under the new chairman, no lifers have been paroled. But, it’s only a matter of time. They heard pleas from 104 this year and voted to release 11, who are currently in transition.

Among the changes made to the parole process are the lengthening of parole hearings, which now take three hours as opposed to one—allowing the board to gather more information on which to base their decision. Also, board members have attended 25 new training sessions and are now required to put their names on their votes, assumingly so they can be held responsible if another tragedy occurs.

Wall says, “Our focus is on evaluating inmates to make sure they work their way out of prison through meaningful programs.” And while this goal is positive and well stated, it also seems like the chairman is ensuring that someone will be available to blame if a parolee crosses the line again.

There is no way to know for certain who will succeed within the community, whether on parole or probation. But the state does their best to limit those who have access to such community options.

If you are facing criminal charges, contact our offices today to discuss your case.

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As with other states across the country, marijuana is becoming more accepted in Massachusetts. Just last month a nationwide poll showed that marijuana legalization is supported now more than ever in history. In Massachusetts, 58% support the complete legalization, giving the state an opportunity to regulate the sale in regards to underage people.

Of course, there were some differences of opinion when looking at who exactly supported legalization. 69% of Democrats support while only 44% of Republicans, and 54% of those who were considered “other.”

When the poll added language about the government being able to tax marijuana sales and control it like they currently do alcohol, approval rose to 62% overall with 70% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans supporting the measure.

Many states that have approved medical marijuana have felt backlash from the federal government in recent months. This is because marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law and is regarded as highly addictive.

When asked about their feelings of federal involvement in states where medical marijuana laws are in place, 54% opposed federal intervention while only 35% of those surveyed supported the federal government disregarding state laws.

The Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana voter initiative will go to the ballot next November. And if the numbers from the poll hold true, there’s a good chance Massachusetts will be one of the latest states to join the medical marijuana movement.

What this means is that a select portion of the population will be allowed to possess marijuana for medical reasons. They will be required to get medical approval and be registered with the state as being a “card carrying” medical marijuana user.

The founder of MassCann/NORML, Steve Epstein, believes that, “The date also establishes that if the legislature does not enact a law allowing medical use of marijuana this session, the voters will overwhelmingly, perhaps 80%+, approve the voter initiative…”

This ballot initiative will not change things for the casual users of marijuana. It seems that states who approve medical marijuana may be the first to usher in complete legalization, but that has yet to happen.

If you are accused of a marijuana offense, the public’s approval for legalization will have little impact on the judge’s decisions in your case. Contact my offices today for a consultation.

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However, the story of a woman who allegedly was injured and passed out with a partially consumed bottle of vodka in the front seat, and her 3 year old sleeping in the back understandably made headlines. We don’t know the facts of the case, so it is entirely possible there was a medical problem or accident, and the alcohol was unrelated.

But regardless, an accusation of child endangerment with an OUI charge can make an OUI case quite a bit more complicated.  If a police officer pulls you over and suspects you of drunk driving, and there is a minor child under 14 years old in your car, the OUI with child endangerment charge will likely be filed.

That doesn’t make the alleged drunk driving case against you any stronger, but it does mean the prosecutor may push harder, and be less agreeable, and judges may be less willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

As we’ve detailed before, it can be surprisingly easy to be accused of a DUI after being pulled over by the police. If you have had a single drink, and happen to have balance or coordination issues, or a medical condition that makes you unsteady, police officers will often arrest you on fairly thin suspicion of drunk driving. And having a child in the car doesn’t add any facts to an extremely thin, circumstantial accusation, but it can make the legal defense waters trickier to navigate.

Give us a call if you are facing any of these circumstances. We’ve handled cases like this, with successful results for our clients in the past.

—

Also from WPRI.

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The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) notes that the current draft does not appear to include reforms to mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession charges, including school zone cases.

Mandatory minimums cost the state huge amounts of money in incarceration costs for non-violence drug offenders. And these mandatory minimums take away the ability of judges to make rational assessments about the nature of these charges, and the danger to society that such individuals really are.

Mandatory minimums for drug possession in a school zone add a 2 year sentence for distribution of drugs for being within 1000 feet of a school. It is easy for someone to be charged and convicted of this offense having no idea they were even near a school, and being no threat to school age children. But the mandatory minimums take the possibility of a measured response out of the judge’s purview.

We hope a good reform package will make it through the legislative process and be signed by Governor Patrick. The Governor and key Legislators appear open to meaningful reform, so let’s hope they take the matter seriously and are ready to make a big difference in the lives of people caught up in the Massachusetts criminal justice system.

Read MACDL’s full statement on the matter.

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There are a number of interesting details in this latest Massachusetts law enforcement deployment of these automatic license plate scanning and tracking systems.

For an overview, these systems are camera’s mounted on police cruisers that snap pictures of all license plates in range, and scan the plate ID, and match it against “hot lists” tagged in onboard computers for any vehicles that might be wanted for any reason: stolen vehicles, expired insurance, suspended drivers license,  outstanding court warrants, amber alerts, BOLO alerts (Be on the lookout) for criminal offenders, and more.

The hotlists are uploaded from local and federal law enforcement agencies, Registry databases, and local towns can have their own hotlists, for cars with too many parking tickets, unpaid taxes, or anything they choose.

The systems can identify as many as 1000 cars per hour, driving at highway speeds, or parked by the side of the road.

And though the lookup of the plate match happens on-board, and isn’t run remotely, all the data is stored. The police can collect and save the data on every plate identified, and store the vehicle’s location by time, date, and GPS location.

The town of Brookline recently rejected state funding for ALPR systems because of data sharing privacy concerns.

This report doesn’t mention whether or not the Lynn PD is sharing this data with state and local systems, or where the funding for these devices was acquired from.

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Boston.com reports that were at least 100 people arrested for unlawful assembly, a criminal charge. Unlawful assembly is a misdemeanor offense under Massachusetts criminal law, with a maximum penalty of 1 year in jail, and a $500 fine.

However, it was reported that when the arrestees reported to the Boston Municipal Court, the charges were reduced down to a civil ordinances in Suffolk County.

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William Senne was in college when he was found guilty of the original OUI offense, and served prison time for the OUI with serious injury offense.

It is extremely unusual for another charge to be filed so late after the incident. The trooper has been in a care center with brain injuries and on life support since the incident. She died over the summer, which prompted the new charge.

This is a horrific case for everyone involved. But it is a debatable question whether this additional charge serves the interests of justice. Is the defendant a public safety threat now? Is there additional deterrent value for others in pursuing this prosecution?

It is true that there have been a number of high profile drunk driving incidents recently where police officers have been hurt or killed, and Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz makes note of that in his decision to prosecute the new charge of felony motor vehicle homicide.

If convicted of motor vehicle homicide in Massachusetts, the man could face another 15 years in state prison, or 20 years if prosecuted for manslaughter by motor vehicle.

Via NECN:

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According to the Globe, the incident started after the man allegedly struck a woman with his car in Roxbury. A 20 mile chase ensued at speeds of up to 80 mph, with the man eventually being shot by police after striking a police cruiser. He had been driving the wrong way to get back on the highway in Rockland.

While few hit and run cases are this dramatic, the consequences of leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury can be quite serious.

Any hit and run in Massachusetts where someone is injured makes you subject to a jail term of up to 2 years (minimum 6 months), a $1000 fine, and a 1 year license loss.

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The guilty dispositions include convictions (where a judge or jury rules the defendant guilty), and when the defendant pleads guilty, usually in a plea agreement predetermined with the prosecution. Not guilty cases include those that were dismissed due to lack of evidence, those that were found not guilty by the courts, and those offenders who worked out a deal to settle their case with a Continuance Without a Finding, or CWOF.

Mark Leahy, Northboro Police Chief and the head of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association called the findings a “very, very frustrating thing for us.” His view is one that’s common among law enforcement who feel as if their work isn’t appreciated somehow unless each case ends in a conviction and a harsh sentence.

Most first time offenders are able to take advantage of the CWOF. In these cases the defendant admits that there is sufficient evidence to establish guilt. This disposition doesn’t count as a conviction and the defendant doesn’t have to disclose it on job applications and the like. But in every other meaningful way, it is the same thing as a guilty. Same penalty, license loss, fines, fees, and probation. And any subsequent drunk driving arrest will absolutely be recorded as a 2nd offense OUI.

If every single OUI charge ended with a trial and conviction, not only would the courts be overwhelmed but so would the jails. In order to balance public safety with court efficiency, most cases are always plead out.

Really, this is just the criminal justice systems working as designed, and is not scandalous at all.

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